Katie Zombro graduated from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California with an engineering degree in Power Systems. This puts Zombro in the position of managing the distribution of power. At IBM Boulder, Zombro manages the power distribution for the entire plant, which includes how the power comes onto the site from Xcel Energy to how the energy reaches the outlet in the wall that you use to charge your laptop.

IBM in Boulder is responsible for data centers, therefore Zombro mainly uses technology to keep the data centers up and running for IBM’s clients around the world. Technology makes the job easier for Zombro by allowing her to have instant access to different devices that can tell an electrical engineer how much energy is being used by each home. Electrical Engineers in the same field as Zombro are forced to keep up with the fast changing technology. Data Centers must keep up with the technology because there is a greater energy demand every day. Also, as the facilities at IBM grow, the technology must be updated to keep up with the energy demands forcing Zombro to do the same.

To decrease your energy use you can change out all your light bulbs in the home to LED’s. You can also purchase energy efficient dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, water heaters, and many other appliances as well. There are things called Phantom Loads, so when there is something plugged into the wall, even though it may be considered off there still is a path for the energy to flow, which means that the energy is still being used.

Historically, Colorado has relied on coal for electricity and still does, making the energy here very dirty especially compared to that of California. However wind and solar power are becoming vastly more popular in Colorado, so in the next five years there will be a great shift to cleaner energy in the State.